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The Tribes of Burning Man progress report

A crazy week that included two awesomeevents – combining readings and discussions with many of the luminaries who appear in the book – seems a fitting way to end a huge month since we launched The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture.
So now, as I take a deep breathe, it might be a good time for a progress report. We don’t know total sales figures yet, but I can tell you that I’ve personally signed, addressed, and mailed more than 100 books that were ordered through my website. And Amazon has sold and sent even more, giving us a strong and sales ranking that peaked at 5,320 on Feb. 18, the day after my rocking launch party.
While Bay Area residents bought more books than anyone, as we expected, there have also been strong sales in Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Austin, and New York City, and even several buyers each in Australia, Austria, England, and Canada.
We’ve picked up some good press coverage so far, including great reviews in the Bay Guardian and New Times, a review and Q&A on Alternet/Killing the Buddha, a saucy interview (and video) on the popular Sex With Emily podcast, and a nice mention by Scott Beale on Laughing Squid. My Amazon reader reviews are here, so check them out and add one of your own. More reviews and press coverage are coming soon, as well as video from my events at Project One and the Westerfeld House.
I’m booked for several bookstore readings, including March 30 at Laurel Bookstore in Oakland, April 8 at Books Inc. in Alameda, April 14 at the Stanford University Bookstore, April 20 in Maple Street Books in New Orleans, April 23 at Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, May 11 at Books Inc. in Mountain View, May 19 at Pegasus Books in Berkeley, and August 11 at the San Francisco Main Library. Check my Amazon author page for details and look for the announcement of more Bay Area readings and trips to New York City, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo, as well as at least a couple more parties in San Francisco. It’s basically me and my publisher doing promo, just two guys, so whatever you can do to help facilitate more events, contact me at steventhejones@yahoo.com to let me know. And if your favorite bookstores aren’t yet carrying the book, tell them to order it from our distributor IPG here.
Finally, I wanted to close with the great review that the Black Rock City LLC wrote and posted to the Jack Rabbit Speaks newsletter a few weeks ago, which I was both touched and overwhelmed by considering it caused a surge of book orders overnight. Thanks again to Will, Andie, Marian, and the rest of the Borg’s publicity team.
“TRIBES OF BURNING MAN” HITS THE BOOKSHELVES

The book launch party for Steven T. Jones’ new book “The Tribes of Burning Man” was flush with Burning Man community, including many of the real-life people featured in his book. If you’re interested in an exploration of some of the various cultural sub-groups that Burning Man has spawned, collected or inspired, as well as Burning Man’s cultural outreach efforts, this book is for you. You can pick up your copy on Steve’s website here: http://www.steventjones.com/

Described as a chronicle of “how Burning Man is transforming American society,” Jones’ “Tribes” includes full reprints of his immersive series of reportage for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which covered the activities of several core Burning Man “tribes,” from the Flaming Lotus Girls to Burners Without Borders…in the book, Jones takes up his pen to round out the story of the community connections between some of the sound art camps, creative communities, cultural criticisms (BORG2, anyone?), and philosophical highlights of Burning Man’s history.

Add in a healthy dollop of his own experiences at the event rounding out his assessment of Burning Man — to Jones, this is no mere week in the desert, but a cultural movement moving far beyond the playa. (We couldn’t agree more.) Check it out and let us know what you think!